Redundancy. Scary stuff.

Sadly due to my employer having to reduce costs a fairly notable organisational restructuring has had to take place. Unfortunately, this has meant in our dept ~ 40% reduction in numbers. All contractors gone and staff redundancies too…including myself.

World has certainly been turned upside down….I’ve worked there all my working life since leaving college (now mid 40’s) and worked my way up the ladder in a variety of roles to a managerial position with a small team reporting to me, good salary, etc. Just 4 months ago got a decent salary increase on back of prior year performance against objectives…how things change!

I have 3 months notice, so will be paid normally to almost Christmas (great!) and likely on garden leave for a fair portion of that time. Blow softened a bit by redundancy payment of 2 years salary plus some other bits and pieces, so mortgage can be paid off at least. My wife works too, although her salary not up there with mine, it will cover normal monthly costs.

Whilst I recognise I am lucky in comparison to many who are made redundant, I still feel sick and scared, particularly about not being a good provider for the family….primarily our 8 year old daughter.

I was hoping for some retraining support but looks like outplacement support ( presume cv writing, interview techniques, etc) only.

My plan is get try to get another job lined up ASAP, so CV already out there and during garden leave will treat part of the day as work – work to find a new job. Will also keep busy doing other things…walk dog, keep house chores up to date and get out on my bike too.

Any other tips? Particularly how to avoid falling into a dark place if new job takes a bit of time to get….

Sounds tough – but if yo can pay off your mortgage and wife’s income cover’s basics you are more than ok. See it as an opportunity to explore other opportunities?

I’d see this as a massive positive to be fair, your mortgage is paid, so you can take a much lower paid (even part time) job, and do what you really REALLY want to do, or spend more time at home with family/riding your bike.

not many folk get that opportunity

Do you want to pay off your mortgage before securing a new job?

Was made redundant twice in the late 90s, although no family at that time.

Firstly don’t panic. Your wife’s salary and your payoff will keep you going for a while yet, and a bit of budget reviewing will help that as well.

Use contacts and networks to get feelers out and let people know that you are looking. Chat with clients, contractors, suppliers, think laterally about your experience as well as directly.

And think of it as an opportunity to take stock. I’d bust a gut in my 20s to have good career and neglected hobbies, family and relationships. Despite the fear, it was a great time to step back, take stock, spend a few weeks focussing on me, my now wife, what we wanted and what might change.

(We ended up relocating, with her being the main breadwinner while I finally got a degree, we got married, started a family, ended up working several different jobs at different times around the family, discovered we didn’t need as much money as we had been used to – though some more would be nice, I guess)

First off – sorry to hear that you are facing redundancy.

The key item in your post is ))payment of 2 years salary(( you are very lucky in this respect.

My 2p’s worth

– you are in great position, treat this as a fantastic opportunity to get another job, whilst benefitting from a once in a lifetime financial bonus.

– don’t rush. Stop and take the time to think what you’d really like to do. You don’t need a new job immediately. Perhaps even work for yourself.

– get into a positive routine, exercise and enjoy life

– why don’t you treat yourself to a short holiday. Time to think and consider what you want to do

– think of it as a opportunity, not a problem

Good luck, enjoy life, everything will be ok.

2 years full salary? That’s a hefty pay off to be fair without even knowing what you earn. Personally I wouldn’t pump all my money into the mortgage, any things you’ve always fancied trying out? Something random like retraining as a plumber etc? Some good money to be made in the trades I’d say over the next few years.

Blow softened a bit by redundancy payment of 2 years salary plus some other bits and pieces

Jammy sod. Take two years off work and enjoy life or at the very least go part time for a bit and look at life from another perspective.

Good point from Wrightyson – potentially a great opportunity for you.

If I was offered the same deal as you right now, I’d be very tempted. Especially if you could go part time and spend more time for the kids – I’m making that change in the next few months as MrsMC is increasing her hours and will be earning more than me. Slight feeling of concern at not being the main provider any more, but that is probably my fragile male ego.

Bad luck.
Much the same here a few years ago, first job, there for 16 years, and a good pay off.
Looking back it was the best thing that has happened to me. New job, new people etc, so while it’s a massive shock, you will get over it, and it could work out well for you.

While I can imagine it’s a shock (been made redundant myself twice), it doesn’t sound like much to actually worry about!

2 years pay off, plus other bits and pieces, plus you have 3 months to find something else.
Have a serious think about whether you want to pay the mortgage off and lose that large savings buffer, or whether you would be better off carrying on paying it normally from your pay off.
The first time I was made redundant, I got about a quarter of my salary as redundancy pay. The second time I got a fifth, and it coincided with the start of the credit crunch so there were no jobs about at all. That was a bit stressful!

If I’d have been offered 2 years salary I’d have left with a hop, skip and a jump!

Best of luck to you with whatever you decide to do…

I got made redundant in march after 20 years in the job, just got basic entitlement of £12.5k and 3 months gardening leave very scary as I am the only earner and @ 55 jobs are scarce.
Decided to pay off the few debts we had and take a job for half the salary
Not too bad, we can live ok.

So chin up, it ain’t that bad and as proof, I’m currently living the dream 200 miles from home, dining alone in a Wetherspoons in Edinburgh 🙂

Scary stuff but you have a nice safety net. Don’t rush to pay off the mortgage if you have a low rate, it’s nice to keep a buffer just in case things don’t go to plan.

However take a deep breath and be positive. It’s the start of a new chapter and very possibly a more enjoyable one, so keep an open mind and things will work out.

I’d pay off the mortgage. It’s pretty good knowing that whatever happens in the future you’ll always have a roof. You don’t need that much to pay for food if you’ve got a home.

and me … second redundancy now. 17 years in the job too. as jota says
after 50 (I’m 52 nearly) jobs start to become a little scarce 🙁

planning on paying off debts and yes scared to death. I’m the bread
winner as my wife had been medically pensioned off

Been made redundant twice. Once was the week I was due to complete on our first house! Took some bottle to sign that contract/cheque I tell you. Scary!

Both times it worked out better than I could imagine, getting a higher paid job within my notice period/garden leave. I was lucky but also prepared. Update CV, register with recruitment agents, look at transferable skills and keep an open mind, but also remember my most people work – to live. Sounds like you have a superb opportunity to really have some fun as well as the above! Good luck.

Sounds like a great opportunity as others have said. You can do what you want or at least have a break/go part time to spend some time with the kids etc.

The worlds your lobster – bbq it and serve with melted butter, mmm, nice.

I’d kill to be in your position tbh! Best thing that ever happened to me was being made redundant from my old job.

Take advice before you pay off the mortgage. There was a time when this may not have been the best course of action, though I don’t know if this is still true.

Good luck.

Get networking, re warm contacts and clients… Statistically networking is most effective finding the next post. More so than recruiters…

Dont rush, have a good old think about what you like, what your good at and what you want to do.

Make the most of the outplacement stuff, it can help if your cv needs polishing…

Its probably scary now but its a springboard to whats next. Dive in !

Probably worth paying off a chunk of mortgage , but leave say a 5 fig sum still owing. The interest will be peanuts , and its often alot easier to re- mortgage or borrow back the overpayments if , for whatever reason , it become necessary .

I would leave my job tomorrow if they offered me 1 years salary , let alone 2 . No mtg , B2L , cash in bank , still young enough to be able to do things ( just ) and currently could get locum work very easily.

Bad luck.

not this

Sounds like a great opportunity

this

The worlds your lobster

and this

While it is a shock to the system you are in a great position to move on. Embrace it.

Sounds like brilliant news to me! I was made redundant 18 months ago and it was the best thing that’s happened in my career. Now working as a freelance drupal developer and never not had work, never had to advertise and loving every minute…

Rachel

As you don’t pay tax on the first £40k you’re about to given significantly more money than you earn in 2 years.

How is this bad?!

Any other tips? Particularly how to avoid falling into a dark place

The scenario outlined above sounds like falling into a happy place of brightness and opportunity!

But that’s just me coming from a background of crappy jobs where you can be dropped at any time with no extra pay, and self employment where there is no safety net whatsoever. 🙂

Paying off your mortgage now might be a good idea if it’ll go up when interest rates increase next year.
Consider contracting as well as full time? Having lots of experience means you have the necessary maturity + the ability to hit the ground running.
Get yourself on Linked In and get networking
You’ll be surprised at what the day rates can be.
Good luck – things seem pretty busy out there right now

re the dark place, just stay very aware of your mood each day – don’t get out of bed late and doss just because you can – keep a to do list so you’ve a reason to get up and out, and take advantage of all that time to ride your bike lots!

It clearly doesn’t feel like a good thing but it is (well we all seem to think so). Your employer has given you some good additional redundancy terms. You’ll probably find that after about 4 to 6 months they will be looking for contract staff so look on it as a large cash windfall and the opportunity to take stock of what you want to do. Whether you want to go back may be an entirely different question.

Chin up, enjoy the ride.

My advice to the OP is to embrace the situation as somebody above has said. I was made redundant about a year ago after 11 years in an industry where I thought I would be able to find work for a good many years. My redundancy was signposted from quite a way off which allowed me to look at the alternatives and I decided pretty early on to leave the industry I was in, retrain and go self employed.

I didn’t get anywhere near as much much money as the OP (was only in my last position for less than 7 years) but I didn’t experience any dark places. I’m not going to pretend that going self employed in a completely different line of work is easy, and the money isn’t as good, but I’m absolutely ****ing loving it.

Make as much use as the outplacement support you will be offered and start thinking about the world of opportunities that are out there now, before you are out of work. Tackle the impending redundancy with a sense of purpose and before long you’ll find yourself in a much happier place, hopefully with a bit of cash from your payout left over. You may end up in a similar job, working as a contractor or even doing something different. My advice is get stuck in and see what turns up.

Sorry to hear about the job situation, I’ve had similar happen to me.

Aside from the obvious get a job advice the only other thing I’d say is if you find yourself at home for any length of time try and establish a routine rather than treating it as an extension of the weekend. It’s very easy to while away hours without achieving anything and thats when the rot sets in.

Even if you’re not doing the job finder stuff, take on some other projects, get fit(ter), do some decorating, learn to play the guitar, anything that’s productive. It does masses for your self worth if you can feel yourself achieving things.

You’re in a very good place indeed considering you’ve been made redundant.
When that happened to me I got three weeks pay and that was it. They owed me about 4 grand.

Enjoy some time off, decide what you want to do next and then gently move your way into it.
I spent 6 panic stricken months trying to get pennies together, working all over the country, doing any job I could get my hands on. It was appalling.

Most stuff has been said but watch out for the mental backlash and self doubt about not being the main breadwinner. It can take years to get over that feeling that Mon – Fri 9-5 are work times even if you’re in a different sort of work pattern.

Oh and its better to send off 2 job applications a day that you have worked on (personalised cvs and cover notes) than 100.

ave 3 months notice, so will be paid normally to almost Christmas (great!) and likely on garden leave for a fair portion of that time. Blow softened a bit by redundancy payment of 2 years salary plus some

Well, if you manage your finances properly you have two years to find a job before shit hits the fan. You are still the main breadwinner for the next two years, it’s just that the money will all come in at once.

You could get a degree in that time!

I’m sure people have said this already but FFS Get a grip!

You’re about to get a huge chunk of money to do nothing for more than 2 years. Why the **** would you spend any time looking for another job? You’ve just been gifted something many people dream of. Take a bit of time to doss about and see if there’s some thing more interesting you can do with 40 hours a weeks than helping to line someone else’s pockets.

You’re institutionalized and this is a chance to do something interesting with your life.

Good luck.

I think from a financial advice pov I would not pay off the mortgage to keep the cash as liquid as possible just in case you need it.

Wow – sounds like 1 month for every year’s employment with a lot of notice? Earlier this year I got basic plus £5k only after fighting which equated to 1 week per year. I reckon with the tax free element you could keep going, depending on your current salary, for at least 3 years until you’re looking at being worse off that if you’d stayed – I had enough for a few months.

So what skills you got?

I was in similar situation 10 years ago. Wife on part-time work, 2 youngish kids, just back at work from plastic surgery after skin cancer – bang – after 20 years in same employer, redundant. To be fair I was thinking of leaving anyway as it was getting me down, I too had been promoted to semi-managerial position, decent salary – wasn’t as lucky as my pay-off was capped (bustards!!) but I still felt liberated, did some self-employed work took the summer off, and eventually took the chance to move across the country to be nearer my elderly, and failing health, parents.

Worked out OK and sounds like you have your head screwed on fine – you’ll manage. You have a great buffer / reserve — use the time widely. Might get some advice as above on the pay-out — it will be taxable over a certain amount — £30k IIRC. That can be mitigated though.

Right now I’d jump at the chance to be made redundant with 2 years salary!

Don;t panic or worry. You have a considerable buffer so you won’t be in trouble financially. Personally I would not pay off the mortgage until you have a suitable/solid plan in palce for the future.

Take some time to relax/have a break and then start to work out next steps.

Depending on what kind of industry you are in it may be worth talking to customers and supplier contacts as your skills and knowledge may transfer easily. I know at our place when people were made redundant plenty of them walked into jobs with customers as they wanted people with knowledge of the industry.

You sound like a bit of a worrier which I don’t mean in an offensive way. Not having to worry about losing yourhouse and ccaring for your daughter will be a massive weight off your shoulders. Id at least get mortgage down to a monthly amount I could afford with a part time job. You can then relax and plan your future. This sounds like a brilliant opportunity for you fella. Good luck.

I’d be quite excited if I were in your boots. I mean, it must have got boring working at the same place all that time?
Change can be positive, plus you have 2 years salary as a safety net – result!